Karen Mintzias
1 c Butter
3/4 c Caster sugar
3/4 c Maize or peanut oil
1 Orange; grated rind only
6 c Plain flour
4 ts Baking powder
3/4 c Orange juice
NUT FILLING (OPTIONAL
1 tb Honey
2 ts Orange juice
1 1/2 ts Ground cinnamon
1 1/2 c Finely chopped walnuts
2 dr Almond essence
-HONEY SYRUP-
1 c Sugar
1 c Water
1/2 Cinnamon stick
1 1/2 ts Lemon juice
1 Thin strip of lemon rind
1/4 c Honey
Oven temperature: 180 C (350 F)
Beat butter and sugar with orange rind until creamy. Gradually add
oil and continue beating until mixture is very light and fluffy. Stir
in flour alternately with orange juice. Knead dough lightly with
hands for
1 minute.
Take a scant tablespoon of dough and flatten it a little. Place a
teaspoon of the nut filling in the centre and fold dough over to
enclose filling.
Shape into ovals, pinching ends to a point. Decorate tops with tines
of fork or by crimping cookies diagonally across top in four rows
with special crimper (see NOTE), or leave them plain.
Place on lightly greased baking trays and bake in a moderate oven for
20-25 minutes until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.
Dip in boiling syrup, four at a time, turning cookies once. Leave in
syrup 10 seconds in all, longer if well-soaked cookies are preferred.
Lift out onto a plate and leave until cool.
(If no nut filling is used, sprinkle tops with crushed walnuts or
toasted sesame seeds and cinnamon. Only those which are to be served
should be dipped; store remainder in an airtight container and dip
when required.
TO MAKE NUT FILLING: Thin honey down with orange juice and blend into
remaining ingredients.
TO MAKE HONEY SYRUP: Place ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan and
stir over heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and boil over
moderately high heat for 10 minutes and skim. Let syrup boil on a
moderate heat while dipping cookies. Add a little water to syrup
when it thickens too much during dipping.
NOTE: Icing crimpers will be familiar to many pastrycooks and cake
decorators who work with icing. If you don’t own a crimper (or have
never seen one), have the family handyman cut a piece of tin or
aluminium plate about 2.5 x 10 cm (1 x 4 inches). Bend metal in half
over a thin rod and cut 6 to 8 evenly spaced saw-like teeth on the
narrow edges. Curl the “teeth” slightly inwards.
Yields
60 Servings